Despite the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is an independent supervisor, he has informed the Minister that he is paying more attention to the charging stations sector. She writes this to the House of Representatives in response to questions from members Omtzigt (CDA), Bruins (CU), Sienot (D66) and Lodders (VVD) about the message that the price of electricity from fast chargers will be increased to 79 cents / kWh for passers-by.
“Electric driving is becoming the new normal, and ultimately charging your car should be as easy as charging your mobile phone. This means that the rates must be clear and transparent. ”, Says Minister Stientje van Veldhoven.
ACM does not comment on any specific investigations it conducts in the context of market power or cartel formation. The reason was the press release from Ionity, which increases the price of electricity from fast chargers to 79 cents / kWh for passers-by, which means that fully charging an electric car is at least three to five times more expensive.
The Minister has not noticed that all providers of fast chargers have increased their rates significantly in recent months and years. Looking at the largest providers in the Netherlands, we see that they charged higher rates at the end of 2016.
At Allego, fast charging cost € 0,50 per minute, and Fastned charged € 0,79 / kWh.
In early 2017, Allego changed the price for fast charging to € 0,69 / kWh and Fastned lowered the rate to € 0,59 / kWh. Three years later, these are still the rates for guest charging sessions. People with a subscription with certain providers may have much lower rates per kWh.
In these years in which the rates have remained the same, a higher-quality fast charging network has arisen in the Netherlands. The networks have grown and the speeds and powers have increased.
Finally, the Minister emphasizes that the fast charging market is an open market with competition. And as mentioned, ACM is paying more attention to the sector. Setting a maximum price for charging posts - whether or not along the highway - is therefore not (yet) an issue.
Also read: Power consumption of charging stations is increasing sharply in the Netherlands
